Ben and JP kicked off with a quick Ablaze! - a game I enjoy but really need to play something other than head-to-head. With Bill and Tony arriving almost simultaneously, it gave us a chance to get stuck into something really meaty. And after we'd finished the pork scratchings, we opted for Graenaland, a game hovering around my interested-list.

With the rules-explanation threatening to turn into an epic (no surprise for a Vlaada game, to be honest), we plunged in and started doling out resources. Ben, content for once to play a learning game, was never really in the running, and Tony finished off the game when practically no-one was expecting it. A nice experience, but not much over Settlers, and probably the sort of game you'd struggle to sit down and play more than once a year.

Biblios was next, the current 'hot' game in the Bateson household, but definitely one that hits its sweet spot with four players. Tony whinged to excess when Ben beat him on remaining gold in the tie-break, without even trying to acknowledge that if he'd kept more gold then Ben would have won anyway. Ten minutes in the sin bin and a round of drinks for complaining about the rules. And the bloody game still smells awful!

Ben's keenness to get Zot The Wizard to the table again meant the Red Dragon Inn took up its natural spot as evening-closer. Tony redeemed himself by winning with Dimli (although, to be honest, I'm not sure how much credibility there is in winning this), but I think next time we'd all prefer the company of Simon The Lonely Ogre instead.